The present invention relates to headrests used with vehicle seats and more particularly to headrests with installation hinges for use with vehicle seats.
Conventionally, for vehicle seats with headrests, if the door opening is big enough, the seat is installed in the vehicle with the headrest attached. Since the seats are typically assembled in different locations than the plant for the vehicle assembly, this makes keeping track of the headrests and final seat assembly easier. Recently, however, seat and headrest combinations are being made taller to meet newer government head impact requirements, while at the same time the doors for some vehicles are being made smaller. Consequently, the vehicle door opening is smaller than the height of the seat with the headrest in its normal use position. In some vehicles, this can be overcome in the rear seats because, by coincidence, they have a system to flip the headrest forward and down to remove it from the driver""s line of sight when driving while no one occupies the back seat. But such a system is not desirable in a front seat, nor is it cost effective in the back seat for many vehicles.
Thus, to overcome this problem, seat manufacturers are assembling and shipping the seats and headrests separately, with the installation of the headrests after the seats are installed in the vehicle. After installation, then, the assembly line worker at the vehicle plant inspects the headrest to assure proper installation.
While assembly of the headrest at the vehicle plant can be made to work, it is much more expedient to assemble, inspect and test the headrest at the time the seat is assembled. Assembling the headrests to the seats before shipping eliminates the need to track and match headrests to seats, it allows one to test the seat and headrest at once without bending over inside the vehicle. Further, some new headrests may include electronics, such as speakers or an antenna, and it is easier to make the electrical connection and test it at the time the seat is assembled rather than after the seat is installed in the vehicle.
Thus, it is desirable to have a headrest and vehicle seat that overcome the drawbacks of the conventional headrest and seat assemblies. In particular, it is desirable to have a simple, inexpensive and reliable headrest assembly that can be assembled to a vehicle seat and tilted down prior to installation, in order to ease the installation of the seat into the vehicle, and then allows the headrest to be tilted up and pushed into its use position so that the headrest assembly will not under normal use tilt all of the way down to its pre-installation position.
In its embodiments, the present invention contemplates a headrest for a vehicle seat having a seat back and a support receiver with a removal limiter. The headrest includes a main body adapted for receiving a head of a vehicle occupant, and an installation post having a first end adapted to be received within the support receiver, and a second end, disposed opposite to the first end, having a hinge receiving portion. The headrest also includes a support post having a first end securely connected to the main body, a second end, disposed opposite to the first end, having a hinge portion pivotally connected to the hinge receiving portion, and a first engagement device adapted to engage with the removal limiter when the hinge portion is received within the support receiver.
The present invention further contemplates a method for installing a seat and headrest into a vehicle, with the seat having a seat back portion that includes a support receiver and a removal limiter, and the headrest having a main body; an installation post having a first end received within the support receiver, and a second end, disposed opposite to the first end, having a hinge receiving portion; and a support post having a first end securely connected to the main body, a second end, disposed opposite to the first end, having a hinge portion pivotally connected to the hinge receiving portion, and a first engagement device engageable with the removal limiter when the hinge portion is received within the support receiver; the method comprising the steps of: hingedly connecting a headrest support post to a headrest installation post; installing the installation post partially within the support receiver of the seat back prior to installation of the seat into the vehicle; installing the seat into the vehicle; and after installation of the seat into the vehicle, manipulating the headrest to cause the support post to partially insert within the support receiver such that the removal limiter engages the first engagement device.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a headrest for a vehicle seat that can be installed onto the seat prior to installation in the vehicle, even when the vehicle door opening is too small to accommodate the seat and headrest when the headrest is in its use position.
Another object of the present invention is to satisfy the above noted object of the invention with minimum impact on expense, complexity and weight of the vehicle.
An advantage of the present invention is that a headrest can be assembled to a vehicle seat and tilted down via an installation post and an installation hinge in order to ease the installation of the seat into the vehicle, and then allow the headrest to be tilted up and pushed into its use position so that the installation hinge is no longer operable.
Another advantage of the present invention is that a headrest can be installed on a seat at a seat assembly plant, and once the seat is installed in the vehicle, manipulated into its use position.
An additional advantage of the present invention is that the installation post and hinge can be of a lighter weight material than the support post since the installation post and hinge will not be subjected to occupant loads once fully installed in the seat after the seat is installed in the vehicle.
A further advantage of the present invention is that the conventional seat back and its guide sleeve do not need to change to accommodate the headrest assembly with the installation post and hinge since the catch on the guide sleeve can be the same.